IUCN status: Vulnerable
EPBC Predator Threat Rating: Moderate
IUCN claim: “On the mainland, predation by introduced feral Cat and Red Foxes was the major cause of extinction in the wild”
Cats were the main predator of reintroduced, predator-inexperienced, hare-wallabies in two locations (Gibson et al. 1994; Hardman & Moro 2006; Hardman et al. 2016). Cats can hunt locally-born wallabies (Paltridge et al. 1997). Hare-wallabies were last confirmed in south-west Australia 58 years after foxes arrived (Current submission).
Lundie-Jenkins et al. (1993) found no spatial correlation one year, and a positive correlation another year, between cats and hare-wallabies. Cats breached the enclosures of two semi-captive hare-wallaby colonies, none were hunted in 5-8 weeks (from Moseby et al. 2015). Hare-wallabies were last confirmed in the Tanami Desert 106 years after cats arrived (Current submission).
There are no studies evidencing a negative association between cats
and rufous hare-wallaby population. The fate of reintroduced animals is
not a reliable proxy for the fate of populations. In contradiction with
the claim, the two species co-occurred for over half-a-century in one
locale and for over a century in another.
Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).
Current submission (2023) Scant evidence that introduced predators cause extinctions.
EPBC. (2015) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Environment, Government of Australia. (Table A1).
Gibson, D.F., Lundie-Jenkins, G., Langford, D.G., Cole, J.R. and Johnson, K.A., 1994. Predation by feral cats, Felis catus, on the rufous hare-wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus, in the Tanami Desert. Australian Mammalogy, 17(1), pp.103-107.
Hardman, B. and Moro, D., 2006. Optimising reintroduction success by delayed dispersal: is the release protocol important for hare-wallabies?. Biological Conservation, 128(3), pp.403-411.
Hardman, B., Moro, D. and Calver, M., 2016. Direct evidence implicates feral cat predation as the primary cause of failure of a mammal reintroduction programme. Ecological Management & Restoration, 17(2), pp.152-158.
IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023
Lundie-Jenkins, G., Corbett, L.K., Phillips, C.M. 1993. Ecology of the rufous hare-wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus Gould (Marsupialia : Macropodidae) in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory. III Interactions with introduced mammal species. Wildlife Research, 20(4), pp 495-511.
Moseby, K.E., Peacock, D.E. and Read, J.L., 2015. Catastrophic cat predation: a call for predator profiling in wildlife protection programs. Biological Conservation, 191, pp.331-340.
Paltridge, R., Gibson, D. and Edwards, G., 1997. Diet of the feral cat (Felis catus) in central Australia. Wildlife Research, 24(1), pp.67-76.